HAIL MARY MEETING: NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and Cowboys owner Jerry Jones emerge from the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service building in Washington on March 11. Goodell and owners convene in Chicago today for a summit that could break the stalemate in NFL labor talks.Getty Images

HAIL MARY MEETING: NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and Cowboys owner Jerry Jones emerge from the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service building in Washington on March 11. Goodell and owners convene in Chicago today for a summit that could break the stalemate in NFL labor talks. (Getty Images)

CHICAGO — An imminent resolution to the NFL’s labor strife could hinge on the emergency owners meeting that starts here today.

The owners are gathering for the first time since a flood of apparent progress in secret labor negotiations the past three weeks prompted legitimate hope of the lockout being ended in time to salvage the entire 2011 season.

But that optimism was tempered late last week by several small-market owners worried about a long-term agreement’s impact on their bottom line — and there now is concern that enough complaints at the meeting this week could scuttle projections of a deal by next month.

As a result, the onus here will be on NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell to get the owners — now split mostly along the lines of big market vs. small market — on the same page this week.

“If [Goodell] can get them united at this meeting, then I think you’ll see a deal in relatively short order,” a league source said yesterday. “If there’s unity out of this, mid-July wouldn’t be unrealistic [for an agreement].”

Giants co-owner John Mara, one of the key participants in a meeting of the labor committee here yesterday, indicated after the meeting that he remains optimistic, but refused specific comment.

The judges in the players’ ongoing antitrust lawsuit against the owners have essentially ordered the sides to negotiate in private and not through the media, and Mara said the owners plan to abide by that.

“As much as I would like to comment, we’re going to follow orders,” Mara told The Post.

Although the owners have been advised that the meeting could stretch into tomorrow because of the complexity of the potential agreement, league sources said it is unlikely they will take a formal vote on it.

The meetings instead are expected to be more of a venting session, with such small-market owners as Mike Brown of the Bengals, the Bills’ Ralph Wilson and Wayne Weaver of the Jaguars voicing their concerns about trying to keep up with big-market teams under a new deal without increased revenue sharing between the owners themselves.

That divide among ownership remains strong, as big-market teams such as the Giants, Jets and Cowboys have opened luxurious new stadiums in recent years without having to give much — if any — of that extra income to their fellow owners in less lucrative markets.

There doesn’t appear to be enough opposition from small-market teams at this stage to prevent a deal (formal approval from just 24 of the 32 owners is needed), but these meetings could be a wild card if the debate inside the room gets heated enough and Goodell proves ineffective.

But if the owners show relative unity, sources indicate a deal could come together quickly — especially since negotiating teams from both sides are expected to resume their secretive talks later this week at an unspecified location.